Monday, March 17, 2008

Historic Battles : Battle for Elephant Pass - 1991

This is the first of a series of articles revisiting the most decisive battles of the Eelam Wars.

As most of you know, Operation Balavegaya was not an operation that was aimed at capturing new territory. It's main objective was to save the lives of 800 army personnel who were trapped in army's Elephant Pass Base Complex (EPS), under siege by LTTE formations.

Unlike in the early 2000s, EPS garrison did not include thousands of army soldiers. It only had 800 men from the Sinha Regiment (SR). On the 10th of July 1991, a 5000 strong LTTE force (approximate number) launched a large scale attack on EPS base complex. Not only was the invasion force massive in numbers, LTTE had planned the attack to perfection. Anti aircraft guns were strategically placed so that no helicopter could land in supplies nor evacuate casualties from the base. Armor plated bulldozers fitted with machine guns and armor plated tractors were used break through the army lines with LTTE minimum casualties. Not only did they broke through SLA defenses but the sinister looking bulldozers sent the morale of the defenders to an all time low.

Image:Armor plated Bulldozer used by LTTE in EPS battle. Corporal Gamini Kularathne (PWV) destroyed the machine using two hand grenades when it tried to break into the inner part of the base. Corporal Kularathne succumbed to injuries suffered during the incident.

Unlike today, the army did not have a clear answer to LTTE's 'human waves' strategy back then. Wave after wave of LTTE cadres pounded the camp's southern defence lines while LTTE mortars rained into the base premises. LTTE forces which outnumbered the garrison in EPS 6 to 1, were meeting with unexpected resistance from the SR soldiers defending the base. Although the soldiers were holding off the LTTE in the southern front, the situation was looking grim for SLA in the long term due to lack of supplies and inability to transport casualties.

During the second day of fighting, the smaller 'Rest House Camp' to the south of the base complex fell the the LTTE. By this time, Major Lalith Buddhadasa who was the second in command of the base had also died due to shrapnel injuries received from an LTTE mortar. Due to the strategic placement of LTTE's AA cannons, SLAF could not land in any helicopters. The only help SLAF could offer the defending soldiers was to air drop supplies into the base. Although majority of the supplies fell into the base as planned, some were retrieved by the LTTE.

After four days of bitter fighting, LTTE forces showed no signs of slowing down. This was when (14th of July) Major General Densil Kobbekaduwa and Brigadier Wijaya Wimalarathna launched operation Balavegaya. Operation Balavegaya, which involved 10000 SLA troops, was the largest army operation at he time since Operation Vimukthi. 1 Sinha Regiment (SR), 3,4 Gajaba Regiment (GR) and 3 Sri Lanka Light Infantry (SLLI), Sri Lanka Artillery and Armored corps were the formations that took part in the operation.

Since there was no clear land route to EPS from government controlled territory, it was decided that an amphibious landing was necessary. A location some 10km to the east of EPS (Vettilakarni) was chosen as the landing point. LTTE which had early information on the army's move, resisted the amphibious landing fiercely. The first attempt to land troops failed as a consequence. However it was a matter of time till the army secured Vettilakarni under the command of Major General Vijaya Wimalarathna. Vettilakarni was then used as a launching pad for the march towards EPS.

The LTTE which had the territorial advantage continued to resist the army advance. This however eased the pressure on EPS, although the base was still in danger of being overrun. Fighting continued for 17 more days in this fashion, with LTTE put on the defence and SLA backed by SLAF trying to reach EPS. Finally, on the 3rd of August at approximately 5PM, vanguard of Operation Balavegaya reached Elephant Pass Base premises. A combined effort of the relief force and the SR soldiers in EPS garrison saw the LTTE retreat their fighters and thus siege which the LTTE leader had nicknamed 'Mother of All Battles" was broken. This was considered as the best victory by the armed forces until the capture of Jaffna.

Although the battle was won, it wasn't without casualties; a total of 200 soldiers had given their lives for the motherland during the entire battle. More than 500 others were injured. LTTE casualties on the other hand were much higher. According to LTTE released figures the number of LTTE deaths was 573 (450 male and 123 female). But well informed sources suggested that number of LTTE fighters killed was well over 800. A similar number was said to be injured.

EPS remained under SLA control for 9 more years after the initial incident. In 2000, the poorly lead and demoralized 54th division in EPS made a tactical withdrawal in the face of another LTTE siege and the base has since been under LTTE control. According to MI, LTTE does not maintain one major base at EPS but have built a series of smaller bases to better face an army advance. Army's 55th and 53rd division, which are now lead by true veterans, are currently probing rebel defence lines in the north showing the signs of an advance into Wanni in near future.

218 comments:

Forces must must make EP their next objective,just to demoralize the terrorists and their diaspora.series of small victories like this might cause an uncontrollerble exodus from Vanni berhaps desertions in the tiger ranks. .

Kevin, I dont agree with you. There is no stratagical immportance of this EPS. Only a flat barron land. Exposed from all sides. Trying to take over this will cause unnessary casualties. It is better to continue with what we are doing now. Small hit and run attacks. We kill few tigers every day. They get exhausted. This is known as the war of attrition. Tigers have mapped out and targeted every inch of EPS with artillary and rocket. It will be suicidal. Once we advance from south and west EPS will fall into SLDF hand.

He was actually holding on to the ladder of the bulldozer when the grenades blew up (from what I have heard) and was hit several times before he got there and blew the grenades. He may have been hit by friendly fire too, but it is hard to say because the fire fight must have been really intense.

"I heard Corporal Gamini Kularathne died due to a friendly fire. It is true?"

It's hard to 100% verify the claims unless we saw it through our own eyes. But many sources say that he died due to the gunshot injuries and shrapnel wounds caused by explosion. He was injured on his way to the bulldozer by LTTE gunfire.

Aruna and Sarath dying at such a young age. People should look after their health in old age. Particularly ex sportsmen and military men who continue their habbits like drinks and fodd without the excerise that burns them off.

[One to one pow-wow with TNA MPPrabhakaran promises Kosovo-type solution

The LTTE, now struggling to stop a relentless army advance into its territory in the Vanni and Weli Oya regions, is expecting the West to come to its rescue.

Amidst mounting loss of men and material on the Vanni, Weli Oya and Jaffna fronts, the LTTE seems confident of some kind of foreign intervention, though New Delhi is supporting Sri Lanka’s efforts to militarily defeat the LTTE.

Authoritative sources said LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran had expressed his confidence in what he called a Kosovo-type intervention by the international community, when he recently met with a senior TNA MP in the Vanni.

Sources said the meeting had taken place at the funeral of TNA MP K. Sivanesan, who died on March 6 in a claymore mine explosion in an LTTE-held area. A senior TNA MP yesterday confirmed the meeting between a group of TNA MP and the LTTE leader at their colleagues’ funeral but denied any knowledge of a one-to-one meeting with the LTTE leader.

The LTTE leader had assured the TNA that they would be able to achieve their goal with the backing of the international community, sources said adding that with India turning her back on the LTTE and its sympathisers, the LTTE had turned to EU countries for support. Although the US had been supportive of Sri Lanka’s efforts to defeat the LTTE, some of its actions, particularly the decision to suspend a range of military assistance to Sri Lanka and severe criticism of its human rights record had been to the LTTE’s advantage, the sources said. (SF)

We are talking about capturing EPS & Pooneryn. It is ok for us civilians to do this but I hope the SLA is not getting ahead of themselves. Complacency is our biggest weakness!

Are we ready for a major counter attack from LTTE? What is the likelihood of us loosing all the gains overnight like in Jayasikurui? I'm not trying to be pessimistic here, we need to make sure that all the pain & suffering of our brave soldiers do not go to waste!

Srilankan-Bro, you have wrote the text which most of us would like to type and with the same feeling most of us currently going through.I only wish that, I can do 0.001% of those brave hearts did/doing towards mother Lanka.

US State Department is to donate $220,000 worth of Anti-Terrorism equipment to the Sri Lanka National Police. The purpose of the equipment is to sustain and enhance the critical capabilities of the security forces of Sri Lanka in their efforts to fight terrorism, the US Embassy said.

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Operations Command Mannaar on Wednesday said that 35 Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troops have been either wounded or killed in booby trap explosions in no-go zones between the LTTE and SLA FDLs in Mannaar from 02 March to 10 March in 35 separate incidents. Members of SLA Deep Penetration Units (DPU) and troops deployed in attempts to break into LTTE FDLs are the ones who were caught in Tiger booby traps according to the LTTE.

13 SLA soldiers in Mu’l’likku’lam, 8 in Pa'ndivirichchaan, 9 in Koayilku’lam and 5 in Valaiyankaddu have either been killed or injured in eight days.

This number is more than the number of SLA troops killed or seriously injured last week.

There had been a large number of similar incidents Tuesday in Pa'ndivirichchaan and Mu'l'likku'lam no-go zones in Mannaar.

Sri Lanka military says 27 Tamil rebels, 3 soldiers killed in new fightingBy BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI,APPosted: 2008-03-17 02:44:07COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) - A new wave of fighting between government forces and Tamil Tiger rebels across Sri Lanka's embattled northern region has killed 27 rebels and three soldiers, the military said Monday.

Reports of fighting have increased in recent months amid government promises to capture the rebels' de facto state in the north and crush the group by the end of the year. Diplomats and other observers say, however, that the army has faced more resistance than it expected.

Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said fighting erupted Sunday along the front lines in the northeastern Welioya region, killing eight insurgents and two soldiers. Four other soldiers were wounded.

Also Sunday, army troops fought battles in Mannar district in which 10 rebels were killed and two soldiers were wounded, he said.

Scattered fighting in the nearby Wanni region killed four rebels and one soldier, while five rebels died in the northern Jaffna peninsula, he said.

Rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan could not be immediately be reached for comment on the military's claims.

NandamithraYou may be right about EP being not that important, but the tigers used that victory on EP as a moral booster for their Diaspora, with videos of SL withdrawing in a dissary,perhaps nor exactly true, nevertheless it filled their numbers and coffers and we must reverse it. Some of the historical battles won and lost in places that are highly insignificant now but at the time of the war it was essential. Mention a few is the battles at Waterloo,Trafalgar,Dianbian…(In Vietnam, cant spell).They had a devastating effort on the enemy.

Cpl Kularatne was injured running to the bulldozer and while climbing the side. But he made it away from the destroyed vehicle and was running back when he was killed. I didn't see this with my own eyes because I was in a different company (close to the Rest House). Guys in Kularatne's company and Support Company, which had MGs attached, said he was probably shot accidentally by our own guys in the dark, who thought he was a Tiger.

Lalith Buddadasa was my company O/C til just before the siege when he was promoted to 2/ic.

Thanks, DefNet. Many memories. A map of the battle might be interesting.

Chamal,Moshedayan,Read this interesting link. http://sf-3.blogspot.com/Should SLA make a move on EPS

Nandimitra Said;Long ranger,

Thanks for your most valuable contribution on defence matters. Keep it up. We need more people like you to defeat tigers. We are not only fighting and defeating tigers in the battle field; We have to beat them in the media too. This is the psychological war fare which tigers enjoyed for a long time because of our peoples inaction. Fortunately things have changed. Write more and more.

Most of us believe trying to take over EPS is costly and it is strategically useless. It is better to continue with what we doing now, repeated hit and run attacks from national front; Hit their big guns by SLAF and distroy them systematically.That way tigers get exhausted. Once we advance from south and capture killinochchi EPS will fall automatically. That day they all will bite their Cyanide capsule.Thanks again.

18 February 2008 19:50

Long-Ranger said...

Welcome to my portal.

What difference would it make to make an assault landing at K-point and march downwards, where as the same march downwards towards EPS can be achieved sans the assault landing?

The same principles I highlighted why the march towards EPS is futile at this stage applies to any attempt at Pooneryn. The land again is open and barren with little or no cover for any troops that would have landed in attempting to secure the beach head. The open stretch of land further necessitates the need for the armoured cavalry, which again needs to be brought in from mechanized landers. For it to be successful at least 100 such units are necessary and the deployment has to be in real quick time (Bear in mind that landing crafts of SLN can achieve only a max of 20 knots) to drive home the element of surprise and to ensure the beach head remains out of Tamil Tiger mortar range. Also worth to note is that the Tamil Tigers had positioned cadres loyal to its former political head specifically to defend this sector. Which means one should expect significant amount of defence along this coast.

However, what can be done is to reduce the defence in depth the Tamil Tigers possess in this sector. Let me give a small example.

The independent brigade led by late Brigadier (then Colonel) Percy Fernando landing at the Eastern coast of Jaffna to capture the jetty during Riviresa II. This landing took place while 532 brigade was moving from the ground towards Jaffna East and air mobile brigade had landed to secure the Jaffna fort. In this instance the Tamil Tigers were deprived the defence in depth for the simple fact that their defences was thinned out and just weren’t able to muster any anti-amphibious defences.

This is not to say the Pooneryn sector is not earmarked. The A32 is a very good prospect and is ideal as a MSR from Illupaikaduwai, Pooneryn to Jaffna across the Sangupiddy ferry till the A9 is liberated from Omanthai to Muhamale. Unlike the A9 the A32 route needs to be defended from only one flank (East), which is a major advantage in my opinion.

Again, only time will tell :-)

Nandimithra,

Welcome. Thank you for your comments.

Your analysis is spot on I must say. Compare the current scenario to an interrogation scenario. Softening up tactics are employed first hand BEFORE the interrogation begins. Once the captive is softened up and broken, its all about tea and biscuits after that :-)

Point: Once the FDL is destabilised it does not take much effort to capture it. It only took a mere 48 hours for troops to storm the VAHARAI hospital. :-)

Take Care.

19 February 2008 13:33

[Photo] EPS - Elephant pass, known for its impregnable defences comprising sophisticated chain linked plexi glass blended by natural defences fell to the offensive LTTE ceaseless waves III formations on the 21st of April 2000. Since then Tamil Tigers have flooded into the Jaffna peninsula. EPS till 2000 remained as a permamnent impregnable cork to the Tamil Tigers alowing SLA maintain supremacy over the thin neck of land dominating all land communications between the LTTE's Wanni bases and Jaffna. The EPS defences extended from Vettilaikerny and Iyakachchi in the North to Paranthan in the South and was spread well over 70 square kilometres complete with man made satellite bases with well complimented natural obstacles of lagoon and sea fronts forming a tactically complementary fortification. It was home to the 54 Division. In addition over two Divisions were deployed for its defence. How formidable and tactically sound these defences were established by the LTTE's failed attack on that area in July-August, 1991, when it was under siege for nearly two months. It still stood tall to wave after wave of tamil tiger cadres during the initial thrusts of ceaseless wave III until the MSR was cut off from Muhamale to Pallai. Although the base fell on April the initial assault on EPS began as early as November 1999. If the guerillas took on EPS in 1991 in a conventional style operation, ceaseless wave III saw EPS being cut off its MSR prior to commencement of the full frontal assault. Because it secured the gateway to Jaffna - the cultural centre of the Eelam ethos, the victory of Elephant Pass is considered as the greatest victory ever in the history of LTTE in its struggle for the separate homeland, Tamil Eeelam. With the fall it gave the LTTE's sea arm - the sea tigers unprecedented access to the coast spanning from Kokkutuduvai to Vettileikerni that facilitated them a greater capability of offshore movement to sustain maritime operations and logistics. With the reversal of fortunes on the back of a revamped strategy there is much demand from the gung-ho Sri Lankan lay camp for a forward march towards EPS and bring the famed base back to its former glory. With just over 2 months away for the 8th year since the fall of EPS, with the current theatre of operations in mind; how feasible is it to march, hold captured ground and rebuild the formidable fortifications? Most of all, by doing so what strategic advantage would it bring to SLA? Kilaly - Muhamale - Nagarkovil axis since 2001 has been the 'national front' or the new EPS of the security forces. The defences constructed along this axis is pretty much similar if not stronger compared to the defences existed at EPS. With the advent of the divisions 57, 58 and 59 based at Southern Wanni the SLA have managed to put pressure on the LTTE's southern front spanning from the Mannar rice bowl from West towards Kokkutuvai in the east. The aim of continued marauding raids from the North and subsequent return to original lines means that it deprives the LTTE a much needed stable launching pad if the need arises to storm the Northern defences in a bid to capture Jaffna. In August 2006 saw one of the bloodiest, fiercest multi-pronged fighting courtesy of the LTTE - code named ceaseless waves IV. It began with the LTTE concentrating on assault landings on Jaffna islets thereby using those as springboards to land at the coast of Jaffna thus flanking the Jaffna defences. At the same time another assault group was deployed to outflank the SLA defences of Muhamale and Eluthmaduval by assault landing at Kilaly. For such a large scale operation the LTTE requires massive man power as well as large stocks of ammunition, especially indirect fire ammunition. This is something the LTTE are not enjoying at present. Thanks to marauding small scale group attacks the LTTE are pinned down all the way from Mannar to Welioya. Likewise by creating an ever hostile environment from the Northern front the SLA has managed to pin down the LTTE's Northern formations in a defensive posture. This is always welcome news for the Jaffna command. Ever since the dawn of Eelam wars, this defensive posture of LTTE is something the SLA has never enjoyed. Unlike in the East and Southern Wanni, the Northern FDLs are fixed with each facing the other across a no man's land. This makes it a conventional FDL. If the SLA are to move ahead of their FDLs as they did on the 29th of January aiming to hold ground and subsequently march towards EPS, they need to negate the indirect fire threat positioned along the Pooneryn-Paranthan axis. One needs to bear in mind that the LTTE does not require its long range 130mm type 59 howitzers to target the area spanning from Muhamale to EPS. All it needs are its 120mm heavy arti mortars. One shell landing in close proximity to troops can account for 8-10 deaths. Hence to account for 100+ casualties all it takes is a dozen of such rounds. SLA have learnt their lesson the hard way especially on October 11th 2006. In my opinion before such a ambitious operation takes place SLAF and SLA's artillery batteries needs to neutralise these indirect fire support of the Tamil tigers more than anything else. Given the fact that the lTTE has in possession over 100 of such T-86 120mm mortar guns and their past successes of the shoot and scoot manoeuvre, relying on neutralising such fire for the forward march is tactically unsound. The other reason as to why it is hard for such a forward march is the fact that this sector is flat open land which provides no cover to advancing troops. The land is so barren that only small ground hugging twigs and isolated palmyrah trees grow. This makes conventional warfare the only tactic available for the men of 55/53 divisions. The highly successful unorthodox 8 man guerilla team tactics are suicidal on such barren open land. They can easily fall prey to ever so vigilant LTTE spotters (thereby mortars), snipers and booby traps. The thin isthmus of land also means that the tigers can employ bottle neck tactics where superiority by numbers does not account for anything. Even if SLA manages to dislodge the tamil Tigers from their first FDL (as they did on October 11 2006) they have to prepare themselves for the impending counter attack with little or no defensive cover making the hunter become the hunted. By opening up one single front allows the LTTE's artillery/mortar units to cue its fire power on one area. The conventional tactics the SLA are forced to employ also means that this area is expected to hold a large concentration (troops/ground area ratio) of infantry men. Hence even if the Tiger mortar/artillery lacks proper accuracy it can still cause considerable amount of splash damage casualties thus stalling the forward thrust. This makes the front line armour run the risk of being isolated by the supporting columns. Moreover even if the forward thrust was successful in securing EPS, the thrust will have to continue up to at least Paranthan as part of its former impregnable defences in order to take out LTTE mortar units out of range. This is the reason why an assault landing brought about rich dividends to both warring parties - first to Lt. gen Kobbakaduwa in 1991 and last to Balraj and his fighting formation who landed successfully at the Vettileikerni corridor (Part of the Vathirayan box) outflanking the enemy defences. Unless a similar feat could be pulled off, the EPS base will remain elusive for the SLA for years to come. Only time will tell...posted by Long-Ranger at 16:46 on 05-Feb-2008

In the second EP battle, the LTTE landed seaborne forces north of the base. The LTTE captured the water desalinization plant. Apparently, the ground water in this area is brackish and is not fit for humn consumption. Thereafter, many of the soldiers did not have access to water and apprently died of dehydration. A friend of mine who used to work at the SL Embassy in Washington told me that the water desalinization units (I belive there were two) were purchased from the USA for a hefty price. With hindsight, the conduct of the army top brass can only be described as criminal. In EP2 and Mulativu, it appears that the top brass did not have any kind of contingency plans.

Army should take another 6 - 9 month before marching into Killinochchi.

First we should take Mullative South East (Peraru jungle)onwards into control. Before marching into Mullative South East, there should be good SLAF activity clearing the suspected jungle hideouts.

In the mean-time, we should be pushing from Janakapura too rounding up Mullative South. Let the other areas open, and allow them to come to those areas mainly open terrain - Mannar, EPS, etc.. Get the terrorists out of the city and take the hell out of them using MBRLS and Arti.

We did not mean that the commander and deputy commander were ENTIRELY responsible for the fall of EPS. They merely carried out orders from the top. What they could have done was limited when top ranking army officials at that time had their head inside their own a**.

Perein,Many thanks for your kind comments bro..greatly appreciated.As for offensive operations..what the army is doing now is just great.The daily engagement of LTTE cadres will force the LTTE to launch a "conventional war" which we need to be ready for.We dont need to capture land right now.

defensenet,I do not hear any Airforce action last few days. What's going on? By the way, why cannot MIGs help more the advancing Army by destroying very well constructed bunkers of LTTE? I know it is hard to identify bunkers such this:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MB2EU80vMhg&feature=relatedwhere they build bunkers right next to civilian houses! What a pussy cat tigers!!!

I like to see the SLAF provide CAS for troops in front line.

Defencenet,Why cannot SLA deploy cheap UAVs to do a recon and findout those bunkers and call in CAS from MIGs and possibily artilery?

what is wrong with the news..Anura was just a fat idiotic pig who could fry an egg at best.His contribution to the country has been ZERO.I cannot understand this stupid eulogy in the news that makes him appear as some kind of god.Now does his death mean that sunithra bandaranayake whatever is going to be the next president of SLanka?

All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.”

oh and folks we never apologized for our mistake in a previous post. We got blasted for posting a confusing story regarding the recent capture of Puliyankulam. What made it confusing was the bit about A-9 road and the map. Puliyankulam which the SLA captured is nowhere near A-9 road but its in Mannar. The map in that post is wrong.

This was due to the carelessness in our part but let's reiterate the SLA did capture Puliyankulam in Mannar (but not the one in Vavuniya).

This sort of thing happens when there are many writers and places with similar names exist in battlefront. Anyway those are not excuses. Sorry about the confusion.

Most of the casualities of the retreating troups were not due to enemy fire but due to heat exhaustion [HEAT STROKE].Imagine soldiers making hasty retreat in the scorching sun, un prepared, un co-ordinated and on their own. Army didn't have much experience as to what heat stroke is and how to avoid it. We practicaly ran off due to lack of leadership.

There was a big blame game in the aftre math of the EPS fall and it was directed at Brig. Egodawela. However he managed to pull out from his pocket a sereis of letters asking for material and manpower to improve the weak defences he sent to the top. The top has completely ignored it. So finally when Commander and his deputy himself was responsible things were swept under the carpet.

And in the true Sri Lankan way Balagalle was rewarded 'Army commander'[one of the longest service as the C of Army]!

man I've heard so much bout this battle when did operation Midnight Express take place, How many soldiers lost there lives in the final battle for EPS, is it true the tigers poisoned our water supply then

EPS was SLA's Deim Bein Phu ! But, I hope our Politico's learnt lessons from fiasco's such as these cuz, bad leadership cause disaster's! Soldiers are trained to fight but,they are only as good as the support they get from first,good competent officer co. &sane politicians.We lost a lot good men ! We can beat the Ltte faggorts, but, our troops need al the help they can get !

In EP1 episode, the Army Commander was General Cecil Waidyaratna. I belive his Deputy was General Algama. General Waidyratna is the only Army Commander to resign voluntarily in the history of the Sri Lanka Army. I belive he resigned or put in his retirement papers a few months after the EP1 episode. A family member told me that General Waidyratna was considered was disliked by his peers. Nevertheless, one must give him credit for doing something which none of his predecessors or successor have done so far. General Waidyaratna died in 2001. Regardless of their personal responsibility, the amphibious rescue operation that they put in place, and which was executed by General Kobbekaduwa is considered brilliant.

//...Despite the LTTE propaganda campaigns to show the world that there exists an ethnic rift in the country, increasing civilian support for the security forces shows nothing other than their want uproot terrorism from their homeland, he added.//

http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20080317_01

# Observe the word 'their homeland'. It is surprising defence.lk use that wording by their own. (its not quating)._________________________________________________

# Again, defence.lk put a seperate picture of this slain tiger showing clearly the cross he was wearing. This kind ofpic is an invitation to int. media and chritian/ cathelic IC to take advantage. It is again surprising fighting is going on closer to famous madhu church, and defence.lk put this kind of pic taking that tiger seperately from the group of 3 and enlarging !!.

# I am not blaming defence.lk, they do a good job with limited resources; but this is like 'adagena nanawa'.________________________________________________

http://www.divaina.com/2008/03/18/news03.html

# Divaina reports the cop who was arrested recently for helping tigers has given money to top police officers too and now investigations are 'over'.

raptor,A reply to your query is worth a separate article. We'll post it when/if we get the time. This article is about the battle of EPS in 1991.

But let us give you a summary of factors that lead to the fall of EPS:-Lack of preparation even when there were telltale signs of an LTTE offensive.-Political intervention-Lack of a long term battle plan-Communication and coordination issues-Ill planned retreat (in broad daylight, causing many deaths due to dehydration,)-Loss of military hardware - LTTE captured a large haul because we did not have a proper procedure to destroy arty in the event of a siege (Ex- Only the viewfinders of some artillery batteries were destroyed, not the barrels-this is repairable)-Lack of firepower (for the first time, LTTE had more firepower -in Sinhalese we call it "Gini Balaya"- than the army-Low troop morale

And we are not sure we'll be able to present all the facts of EPS 2000 because it involves a lot of politics and politicians. As you may already know we try to keep politics away from this forum as much as we can.

"So please...explain to me and everyone else...with facts...how either one of them was to blame for the fall of the base."

Defence of a base is one of the main responsibilities of a base commander. So when a base (specially a one with a 10000 strong garrison) falls, how can they NOT be responsible?

"I urge you not to lead astray the readership of this forum and tarnish the names of braves sons of this country."

What would we gain by doing so? Tarnishing a name and pointing out the truth are two different things. If you do not point out the mistakes, they will be repeated. We have given credit where credit is due, have we not?

# When (then) Maj. Gen. Kobbakaduwa tried to land from sea they faced heavy resistance from LTTE and had to retreat. At this time Kobbakaduwa asked from his officers when should we come back, as you think?. Others told when a time enimy don't expect us. Then Kobbakaduwa do you thing they expect us right now? They said no. And immidiatly they breaked LTTE defence and landed.

-Some thing I heard, true or not, not sure._________________________________________________

If LTTE is better than us no point complaining about officers. Just need to improve things. However EPS fall didn't come suddenly. SLA saw what happened in poonaryn, Mulathiv and Kilinochchi before that. But they just allow same mistakes to happened. Many says had SLA took diciplenary actions for those responsible for poonaryn base fall thing may be different.

DN, some says there was a mole inside EPS-2001, a brigadier. Is this true?

wipeltte,as regards SLAF and CAS......We discussed this here in detail in a previous post. There are no reasons everyone agrees. But the following are in brief.1. lack of resources.2. high cost3. low effectiveness4. vulnerability5. difficulty to co-ordinate6. possibility of civilians casulties

Honestly i do not agree FULLY (partly agree) to any above. My reasons,7. lack of planning, no planning8. the govt.'s active dislike to use SLAF for SLA op.s9. govt.'s fear of retaliation by the LTTE10. SLAF's mentality that has not been subjected to much change over the years IN CONTRAST TO that of SLA and SLN

But at decisive stages we did use SLAF very recently with remarkable success (eg. the battle to capture south parapakandal, etc.). So things are happening.

DN, One more reason for the fall of EPS in 2000 would be lack of SLAF support which you actually stated as 'political intervention' and quite correctly refused to elaborate on. Unfortunately this happened with Mulaitivu battle (1996) as well. Unlike in 1991, we had Kfirs and MiGs in 2000. Plus Mi-24s.

We too had bad reports of comanders,perhaps absent from their posts, gave into the terrorists by asking their fellow soldiers entrapped to leave their valuable arms worth billions to the terrorists in return for a safe passage. These were camps in Muletiev and Mankulam and only people that gave some sort of a fight was a small navy garrison at odusudan.I am sorry of my spellings as I had a few with my mates at the local as it is St Patrick’s day, when every Irish friend takes a bit and I had to follow them. With respect to EP I was reliably told that, just as in the other camps that fell, at EP the commanders were in touch with the rebels on their radios after the desperate situation that was caused by the lack of water in the camp, agreed with the rebels to leave the weapons for a safe passage to North. These spineless commanders never allowed it’s troops to destroy the heavy calibre artillery, that is now been shifted to poonyan,that is threatening the pallaly air base. Due to some disagreement with the commanders, there was incident of ‘blue on blue’ committed resulting in the top man dead,.We all knew it was Maj Gen Janaka Perera and Maj.Gen Sirilal weerasooriya who ,with the multi barrels push backed these rebels. If not for the long time friendship with General Musharaff, managed to get the weapons we needed to defend Jaffna. There was a belief in some circles that the terrorists tried to take revenge on these two generals and General Weerasoorya was the unlucky enough to be bombed in a church in Pakistan, but Janaka Perera was lucky to be alive in Indonisia,as none of their plans worked there due to the local bandits and jihadists were on the run after the Bali affair. We were glad that Janka perera is now out of Indonisia.Perhaps I may be wrong, as I had to depend on others for these information.During this time and the time for battles for A9 was poorly run with a very corrupt general Rattwate at top, anyone in SL will testify that many casualties were brought in ambulances to places like Kandy and Colombo and places were overrun with ease and VP was unstoppable until Ranil was clever enough create a safety net to stop the carnage by the CFA.Anyone can eat my head for saying this, but the facts have to be accepted.VP violated the CFA,brought in lots of weapons, So what? He lost credibility for violating it, Diaspora drifted away from them, all important Karuna broke a way and this period gave the diaspora to step back and reflect on its dilemma and VP’s momentum was broken. I think when the CFA was signed it was expected that the tigers would violate pretty soon and the almighty arm forces would overwhelm these terrorists any day, even if these terrorists had the best of weapons and the history will one day appreciate the CFA.Now the tables are turned on the tigers and they are asking for a CFA,that should not be given to bunch of terrorists.CFA served it’s purpose,gosl has recovered enough to get back to eliminate the menace of terror in his own back yard. good night!

"He said that according to intelligence reports, the LTTE used in the Elephant Pass offensive eight 60 mm mortars, one 122 mm gun, multiple-barrel rocket launchers and one 144mm gun."

This doesn't seem to be a big arsenal. However, you said that one of the factors that contributed fall of EPS was:

"-Lack of firepower (for the first time, LTTE had more firepower -in Sinhalese we call it "Gini Balaya"- than the army"

How come we lacked even this amount of fire-power? How was our arti at the time? After our "tactical withdrawal", how come we didn't fire everything we had on advancing LTTE terrorists?

One of the reasons why you say that it is unwise to march to EPS now is that LTTE has mapped the area well. Did we not do that while we were there? Because as far as I can understand, had we done that, after our "tactical withdrawal", we could have pulverised advancing LTTE.

DefenceNet, I'm not having a go at you here mate, I just want to know what happened, that's all! Is there any article on the web that you can show me?

To the list of problems you have identified, I would add the lack of a centralized command structure that cuts across the three services. The Chief-of-Defence Staff position is basically a toothless position. The current incumbent seems to have completely dropped out of sight recently. The previous incumbents of the CDS or the JOC as it was once called (General Daluwatte and General Wanasinghe) were either ignored or undermined by the service chiefs. Because of the lack of a centralized command structure, there is a problem with coordination among the three services and the police. Each service arm basically guards its territory very closely. Resources are a major constraint but a bigger constraint is the current command structure, which assumes three co-equal branches. I believe that when the SLN acquaired the SLNS Sayura from India, there was talk about about setting up a small naval air componet by getting a Cheetak helicopter from India. As I understand, the SLNS Sayura has the capability to carry a helicopter on board. Similarly, it may be practical for the army to have a small air component with COIN aircraft as DW has pointed out several times. One way for SL to go would be to copy or modify the the US model. The US command structure is headed by the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who has full authority over all services. The JCS head position is filled by each of the services in rotation. In addition, there are regional commands headed by a single commander picked from one of the services.

Anyway, I'm no military expert, so I'll just have to believe what you guys have to say. DefenceNet said that they have around 100 arty pieces (or over) to defend EPS now, so I assumed that 10 heavy guns put together with few MBRL's would not make it a big arsenal!

Anyway, my point is, what did we have to counter this at the time? How many big guns did we have? Could we not have fired them on EPS after our "tactical withdrawal" to make it impossible for LTTE to stay there? After all, this is exactly what LTTE is doing to defend their side of the national front at the moment!

It is very encouraging that we as an army, a nation, or even as contributors to this amazing DefenceNet blog are able to analyze, critique, and even acknowledge past military strategic mistakes, and the net effect each had on our 30-year war on terrorism.

In order for this exercise to be constructive as probably intended by DefenceNet, we need to avoid the blame (and shame) game, analyze and identify the primary causes for the fall of EP, and institute checks and balances to ensure that a debacle such as EP NEVER again occurs in the annals of Sri Lanka's military history. With all of the military equipment and professional soldiers at our disposal, our Defence establishment was ridiculed as amateurs (quite rightly) following EP and other military reversals.

Perhaps, I hope in the not too distant future, we will be able to conduct the same analysis and critique on our ethnic and political blunders of the past years as the first step in correcting them too.

ninja,"DN, some says there was a mole inside EPS-2001, a brigadier. Is this true?"

Not exactly sure if it was a brigadier or not, but there were several. Moles have been associated with the fall of Mullaithiv camp as well. And very senior officers have worked as traitors. For example, in Mullaithv attack in 1996, offficer in charge of base's artillery guns joined the LTTE mid battle.

parakrama/moshe,"DefenceNet said that they have around 100 arty pieces (or over) to defend EPS now, so I assumed that 10 heavy guns put together with few MBRL's would not make it a big arsenal!"

What we said was they have more than 30 guns. But that is more than enough to seriously hurt the army.Anyway LTTE used more weapons than what that article mentioned. In MUllaithiv attack, LTTE captured six 122mm artillery guns. As far as we know some of these were used to shell EPS as well. We dont have an article to link to or the exact figures of weapons used but LTTE's firepower was a very worrying factor back then. It was after this the RM-70s were brought in.

"How come we lacked even this amount of fire-power? How was our arti at the time? After our "tactical withdrawal", how come we didn't fire everything we had on advancing LTTE terrorists?"

SLA-LTTE artillery power were evenly matched at this time. We had no powerful MBRLs. And SLAF did attack the advancing LTTE columns but the effect was limited due to the nature of LTTE formation and terrain.

"Anyway, my point is, what did we have to counter this at the time? How many big guns did we have? Could we not have fired them on EPS after our "tactical withdrawal" to make it impossible for LTTE to stay there? "

It is not economically feasible to do such thing. Predictable shelling will only mean that LTTE will take cover in bunkers which would minimize its effects. Artillery alone is never a solution, without a proper ground offensive.

"I believe that when the SLN acquaired the SLNS Sayura from India, there was talk about about setting up a small naval air componet by getting a Cheetak helicopter from India. As I understand, the SLNS Sayura has the capability to carry a helicopter on board."

Thanks to a former slime ball in the Navy who wasnt going to get his commission, this idea went down the drain. And there is this mentality that 'only air force should handle any type of plae' which is not a very good attitude.

"VP was unstoppable until Ranil was clever enough create a safety net to stop the carnage by the CFA."

A lie again. When the cease fire agreement was signed VP's march has been stopped by our forces commanded by the above two generals. Actually they were pushed back close to current Eluthmaduvil-Nagarkovil defenceline. LTTE lost lot of cadres during this phase. There was a kind of a stalemate later in that period. LTTE morale was high due to the capture of EP. But they were out of steam. We didn't have the political will.

In the end, whatever falls or whatever we gain. The truth is that our soldiers will fight until death and they will never give up until they reach their objectives, which is to secure our siri lankan motherland as we have done for over 2500 years! Corruption has its history in every country. It was the corrouption, politics, that gave a bad image to our SL Forces. But now, we are proving to the world, that Sri Lanka is not like any other country. And our forces cannot be taken lightly. We are the closest neighbor to the Big Giant India, and yet for the pats 2500 years, India never ruled Sri Lanka, NOT ONCE! It was obviously for good reasons due to our kings, men and woman who fought to keep our terrotorial integrity of OUR Island, that is called SERENDIPITY, CEYLON, SRI LANKA!!!!!!!

Our people will never let western forces, or any other country bring or break our nation. We will fight until every person is dead to protect what is OURS!

I as a young generation will say this proudly because there has now been a new revolution of pride, patriotism, due to this long running terrorism that our country has faced by those tamils who support terrorists!

Oh and Elephant Pass will fall in the hands of our army again to the rightful owners. Those ltte animals have probably ruined the infrastruture with bata slippers, and words( a language) that sound like farts "pada pada kada rada "

Who did the CFA protect?1. CFA signed 3 months into THE GLOBAL WAR ON TERROR2. before CFA LTTE leaders were hiding in foxholes for the fear of LRRP3. during earlu CFA many leading intelligence wing officers were killed4. CFA killed Kadir who was at NUMBER ONE in the LTTE hit list (funny ceasefire it has been)5. LTTE brought 10 shipments from 2002 Feb - 2005 March6. LTTE came VERY CLOSE to KOSOVO thanks to the CFA7. Had the LTTE not ADDITIONALLY (over and above it benefited the SLA) benefited from the CFA, it would have simply withdrawn from it following the collapse of peacetalks in 20038. If Ranil (knowing his level of extremely low intelligence level widely displayed by his conduct) can strike such a beneficial (to the SLA) agreement as some point out, he must be just acting like a FAGG CLOWN every other time!!! The CFA was an arse-save plan for Ranil's URINE-PEE (unp) that did not have the parliamentary majority, president's support, people's support (at the 2001 general election if you add PA+JVP votes, it is higher than UNP+SLMC). But not only RW even CBK and MR continued with the crappy CFA!!

After reading the article and all the comments it makes me very sad. As sri lankan said in the beginning tears comes to my eyes for all those brave soldiers who laid their live for mother lanka.

But my heart goes bitter when it is said about traitors/moles who betrayed ths nation. Our sincere hope is that SLDF should capture the lost territories and make this one united country again.

I think today only the three forces are doing a real service to nation, all the other depts/corps/and government service is corrupted to the highest point. So we can expect every soldier to be true his/her nation till his/her last breathe.

I dont know about Srilal Weerasooriya's capabilities or lack there of but it was because of his close freindship whith Pervez Musharaff that we were able to acquire MBRL's and get them operating in record time in Jaffna

@all

I consider the following post by sl to be racist

"and words( a language) that sound like farts "pada pada kada rada "

This is the sort of attitude that have landed us in this mess in the first place. live & let live brother

Another little tidbit: When Maj (he was posthumously promoted) Buddhadasa was hit, several soldiers were killed trying to recover his body that was lying in the open. At least three men ran out one after the other but were hit in turn by LMG fire before the body was finally recovered. A lot of sacrifices, and shows the high respect 6/SR had for Buddhadasa.

Moshe Dyan, thanks for the info mate, it makes sense now. I just can't believe that we let them get away with so many heavy guns, OMG!

DefenceNet,

Sorry mate, I was talking rubbish about 100 pieces, I have short-term memory loss, need to look into that!

You said "It is not economically feasible to do such thing. Predictable shelling will only mean that LTTE will take cover in bunkers which would minimize its effects. Artillery alone is never a solution, without a proper ground offensive."

I still don't understand this situation, please explain it to me if you have time ok. My point is that Tigers have mapped all of EPS to the last inch and they know the terrain and if SLA advances they are going to use their artillery to make it impossible for us to hold ground right? As you said, one shell landing in close proximity can take 8-10 lives meaning 100+ kills can be achieved with only a handful of shells.

If this is the case, then how come we couldn't hold onto EPS? All we had to do was to do a proper tactical withdrawal and then hit LTTE with arti and then storm their positions again before they get a chance to lay land mines & booby traps.

Isn't this what they are doing now?

Anyway, please don't take this the wrong way, I'm not a military man and I'm trying my best to understand the situation, that's all. Thanks for taking time to reply!

"As you said, one shell landing in close proximity can take 8-10 lives meaning 100+ kills can be achieved with only a handful of shells."

The kills depend on how well they are protected and how close they are. Remember the incident during the eastern battle where MBRL fire killed around 40 civilians (in vakarai I think, when targeting an LTTE arty gun they had positioned close to the civilians) But in the battlefield, when shelling a fortified camp, you can't expect the same result. After the first round falls, everyone will go immediately for cover. After that the use of firing artillery is mostly to keep the enemy pinned down.

Let us be very careful when we make comments about the Tamil people, Sinhalese people and the terrorists (LTTE). All LTTE terrorists are Tamils (almost) but not all Tamil people are terrorists. Among the Sinhalese and Tamil people there are those who have extreme views.

Let us not allow our zeal to blind us to the fact that all peoples and races by and large want to live in peace and do not condone terrorism.

Let us not condescend anyone here; let us not show disrespect for languages, faiths or any other prominent diversities which exist between the people of our Pukka-land. We are here to fight terrorism not one another.

Thanks for your reply! What I'm trying to figure out is that SLA can't go in and take EPS because of open terrain and the threat of LTTE arti. I understand this. If you do conventional style march in open terrain, then you are sitting ducks! Besides LTTE will be well dug in. This means that SLA cannot march to EPS at the moment, if they do, it'll be with a huge number of casualties.

So, the same should apply to LTTE right? EPS is open terrain and when LTTE started attacking SLA, why didn't they use open terrain & well dug in position to our advantage to beat back the LTTE offensive?

Also, if it is this hard for us to mount an offensive, then it should be the same for LTTE right? It should be very hard for them to make an advance on our FDL, am I right?

EPS fell for many reasons, the beach landings and Vettilaikerny, and the subsequent fall of the Iyakachchi garrison that supplied fresh water to EPS.

The tigers knew they were never going to break through EPS with a full frontal assault. So they starved the base of water.

Hence why the majority of soldiers died to dehydration. That’s why the base fell.

And let me tell you one thing, there was absolutely nothing the commander of the base could do at that time.

The senior most officer on the battlefield at that time was Brigadier Percy Fernando. He was the type of solider who believed in fighting with his fellow comrades. He refused to stay in Jaffna because of this belief. This ultimately led to his death.

A fact you probably had no idea was that he was also the commander of the Commando Regiment at that time. He was one of finest commanders we ever had. He rose through the ranks from the inception of the regiment, with the likes of Maj Gen Gamini Hettiarachi, Col Sunil Peries etc. Everyone who served under him has glowing praise for him. He lead many battles against the tigers, among which was the saving of the Kiran camp in Batticaloa when it was about to be run over by the tigers. He also played a major part in Op Riviresa.

I remember he once told me, he was being airdropped into Mullativu during the major battle in 1996, how the MI-17 took repeated hits from .50 cal fire and they had to jump. He said there was chaos allover and in the end, it was every man for himself. A young captain by his side rose to see what was going on and he was immediately shot in the head.

Another occasion I remember distinctly, was the story about Gamini Hettiarachchi, now a retired Major General. On a covert deep penetration mission he took a bullet to the head and was incapacitated, Brig Fernando carried him back from enemy lines to safety and saved his life.

You have tarnished the name of a great hero, someone who died with the men he served with. Someone with a rare breed of both leadership and bravery. One of the most distinguished men to serve this country.

I have read this blog with interest, but now I have lost respect for you.

So please good sir, I ask that you retract the comment you made about the commander of the base at that time, because it is entirely false.

I have to admit that I don't know much about the officer in question here. However, as you say, if termination of water supply to the base led to its fall, then I believe the commander should take at least some blame for that. He should have known that without supplies & fresh water, EPS would not have been able to survive. So, safeguarding essential things like MSR, electricity supply & water supply should have been number one priority especially in a hostile surrounding like EPS.

You say that the commander could do nothing about the fall. I do not agree with that all. It's the commanders responsibility to protect his troops and the base. If he feels that he is ill equipped and cannot do the job, then he should step down. Knowing there are deficiencies that could lead to a catastrophe and not doing anything about that is negligence of his duties.

Anyway, that's my point of view. I am not a military man and I do not know the circumstances or the men involved, so I am sorry if I cause any offence to our brave soldiers.

I think if u could do a comparison with then situation and the present situation it could be very worthwile.

Please let us not point our fingers on individuals both on and off the frontlines. Things happened and it cannot be reversed. If we can learn from the past mistakes it is the most important thing here.

Let us all stand together and respect all those gentlemen who paid with their lives for the mother lanka. They have done what many of us could not even imagined.

Humans are prone to error. Everybody has their faults. So guys please stop deliberating each others mistakes. Forgive me if my grammar is not correct.

We admit that we may be wrong in our assumptions about the fall of EP and it’s good to know from people who were there at that time, hoping that our forces have learned a great deal from the past and hope that these terrorists will be done with for ever.

There is no doubt that Brig. Fernando was a great officer. I have heard how his men risked their lives to retrieve his body and bring it back after he was killed by sniper fire. The only reason for this, as far as I can see, is because they loved and respected him. But people make mistakes, and in the army some mistakes can cost you your life (and others' lives as well). But my belief is that the higher officers are responsible for the fall of EPS much more than the GOC & deputy GOC (and the other officers at the camp) And if they were facing 5000 enemies with only 800 troops, the situation would have been very hard unless they got support from outside pretty quickly.

raptor,To tarnish the names, we did not name anyone in the first place. And even when we revealed them, we clarified what we meant.

"However we believe the following people were more responsible for the debacle than the two mentioned above:

Then army commander: Lt. Gen Sri Lal Weerasooriya

The army chief of staff: Major Gen Lionel Balagalle"

Read our previous comment:"We did not mean that the commander and deputy commander were ENTIRELY responsible for the fall of EPS. They merely carried out orders from the top. What they could have done was limited when top ranking army officials at that time had their head inside their own a**."

And all the things you said about Brig, Percy Frenando is true. He was a hero.

But in EPS 2000, if base commanders could not do anything, why did not they step down? The siege was not a matter of days. It was a matter of months.

It would be very interesting to know as to what happened in those camps that fell and if anyone who were there could be good enough to let us know bit more about it. I think gosl must learn from the past and go forward.

Some people will not step down because they didnt believe in leaving the people they served with to the whims and fancies of the idiots above.

The blame for EPS falls entirely on the shoulders of the then army commander.

See what I am annoyed about now is that you obviously didnt serve in the military, and your getting your information from ad hoc sources.

I said point out some facts, where are they? Are you a military man to know how to defend a base when it comes under attack?

Its easy for someone who lives in colombo to comment that commanders should have done something. Its easy to comment when you havent been in such a situation, and never had to command troops in battle.

There were so many things wrong with EPS, one of which was that it was defended in a very static nature. It had bases around it that were mean to protect it,

Once the tigers overran kilinochchi they took the paranthan box, that was the main forward base defending EPS.

Its quite evident that all you post is what you have read in the newspapers and from some half baked sources who maybe in the military.

I am fed up with you just arbitrarily making accusations. Get your facts straight man, and then talk.

I agree with DefenceNet here. I agree with you that not leaving your men while in battle is the right thing to do. But staying around before the battle knowing that you could do nothing when the battle comes is the wrong thing to do! If people knew they couldn’t defence the base, they should've pulled out long before the battle erupted!

"There were so many things wrong with EPS, one of which was that it was defended in a very static nature. It had bases around it that were mean to protect it,

Once the tigers overran kilinochchi they took the paranthan box, that was the main forward base defending EPS. "

So, if this is the case, the commander should've known that once Paranthan Box fell, EPS was bound to fall, so why didn't they do something about it then?

"For example, what makes you think that none of us have ever served in the military?"

You clear lack of knowledge on the subject shows that you havent. Or if you did, you never were in a position to know the proper facts.

"So, if this is the case, the commander should've known that once Paranthan Box fell, EPS was bound to fall, so why didn't they do something about it then?"

"If people knew they couldn’t defence the base, they should've pulled out long before the battle erupted!"

Realistically speaking, do you for one moment think the politicians in power at that time would ahve allowed this? It would have been political suicide. They waited till soldiers dropped dead of dehydration, after it was too late. Think before you say things like that.

How would it look if someone gave the order to pull out of EPS, the biggest and supposedly most secure base in the country?

I understand what you are saying. I personally believe that politics played the biggest part in the fall of not only EPS, but all the other bases as well.

However, I still think that officers in charge (or those who are responsible for these bases) could've walked out before it was too late. This would've put pressure on the politicians to do something about it.

They sacrificed their lives by staying in those bases, they could've served the country better had they taken the other option. Then again, this is just my non-military point of view!

Raptor,I really dont know any of the facts.the chances are someone close to your family/friend served at EP during this period..only a guess.This was however a long time ago(Does not mean that WE SHOULD NEVER EVER FORGET THEM EVER).We need to wait for this war to end and then use the media to article the EP battle and STATE NAMES.AS for DefenceNet they are providing us with current news with the greatest of difficulty i am sure....is there really a point of argueing with them even with the best of intentions?

This is my first comment on this blog althought I have been reading it for a long time. Keep up the good work people. Talking of EP1 and Op. Balavegaya, it would be wrong if we did not mention Admiral Clancy Fernando. Don't forget, it was the first and largest amphibious assault undertaken by our forces (it would not be wrong to say that it is still so). The Navy's role to save the camp was immesurable although it only had 2-3 very small landing craft. The entire operation was planned and executed not only by Gen. Kobbekaduwa but also by Admiral Clancy Fernando. In fact, during the final assualt, the both of them walked through mine fields along with the foot soldiers right up to the EP Camp. This was a huge morale booster to our forces. There is a photo of this heroic moment in the Ranjan Wijeratna Foundation website.

Also, it was Admiral Clancy Fernando who first mooted the idea of a Naval Air Wing way back in 1991 or 1992. In fact, he had plans to construct helipads on Mother Ships (RORO vessels) which were the biggest available to the Navy at that time. However, this was never allowed to materialise by powers that be. I hope anyone else who was also involved during that time can comment further

Raptor, harsh as it sounds, in the words of Paul Scott in 'The Mark of the Warrior':

"When a man is in command of a unit, he is in command. He is responsible in the fullest sense of the word."

That applies to the Army Commander at the time too. Weerasooriya should've resigned.

However, Brig Percy Fernando died with his men, and by doing so, in my eyes, he earned the right to be absolved from further blame.

There are two schools of thought on whether a commander should resign in protest or stay with his men. He must choose between loyalty to his men and responsibility for their lives. I think Brig Fernando chose the former, perhaps hoping that the worst would never happen. To resign would be the end of his career, though I won't insult him by saying that swayed his decision.

There's a story about a junior American infantry officer who was visiting a British unit just before the normandy landings. While inspecting the base with a British captain, they would be interrupted by sergeants and other NCOs giving sitreps. Each time, the Brit officer would just say "Carry on, sergeant" and move on. Eventually the American left the Brit officer and went over to talk to a sergeant, and told him that he noticed that all the work was done by the Brit NCOs and the officers didn't do much. "What do your officers do, sergeant?" he asked. "Well, sir," said the NCO, "when the time comes, they show us how to die like men."

Things are never black and white. As far as Brig. Percy Fernando is concerned, he was a man of grit, a leader of men and an honorable soldier. As Raptor said, he fought with his men shoulder to shoulder. This is a very admirable quality. This quality of his says a lot of his character as a person. Whether this personal style is preferable as the commander of EP is however debatable.

He appears to be suited to micro management of tasks rather than macro manager of tasks. The EP garrison was a mammoth place with many satellite camps. This sort of place needs someone with the properly identified skills. Any short falls in the command has big ramifications considering the size of the garrison.

attack is the best defence too quick to respond, that is not the incident i'm talking about. It is the attack in the HSZ in mannar that i'm talking about, why do you think everyone on the government side is quite so far about this incident, there is no usual report from defence.lk claiming that 17000 tigers have been killed with only two injured soldiers. They are mum on this attack, wonder why?

Gen. Srilal Weerasooriya was a decent person but a useless commander. Gen. Daluwathe was useless and corrupt.

CBK or Ranil never appointed any commander with a backbone probably fearing they would be eventually overthrown by a military dictator. Even after Gen. Gerry Silva did the favor at the last moment by cleaning up the mess, CBK unceremoniously stood him down as the Jaffna commander.

These incompetents however were playing with security of the entire nation.

actually tell us abt this..thiru was it frm tamilnut... wut r the casualties?

GUYS percy fernando was a great hero... He might have not defended the camp but the reasons were out of his control I guess. 1. We lacked the firepower for the first time in the history..2. Bad leadership. gen fonseka janaka perera veterans like those were cornered just because they were not fans of ratwatte and the arms procurement was very shady.3.Gen weerasoriya was not at all a gud leader. Thats proven. Once janaka perera has told a news paper that gen weerasooriya has told him that jaffna is going to be lost in few days just before he assumed duties. These kind of negative people were the sad result that we faced at EPS.

BUT now we can see a clear difference that we all can see and that why its giving our armies a clear advantage in the battlefield.

PAST is past but if we can learn from our mistakes, that is the best thing that we can do for these war veterans who sacrificed their lives for the sake of the country.

Piyadasa,Charging this guy with terrorism is good news at "face value" but that does not necessaryly mean he will be given a harsh prison sentence..The question is what this canadian ambassador in SLanka(pussy i think) bitch wants the govt of SLanka to do for this "great favour" they have done for us.This "monumental step" by the canadian govt could have been taken after lots of diplomacy by the govt of SLanka...just to show us.."we canadians are really good fellows".Dont forget that there are AT LEAST 10,000 ex LTTE cadres enjoying the "good life" in Canada.These buggers are a menace for a peaceful srilanka in the future.they may not rejoin the LTTE but will be a source of funds for any aspiring crooked SLankan politician who decides to fight for a tamil EELAM in future.Our only defense is to ensure we build up our population of peace minded Slankans in cannda and the west.

That article given in tamilnet about an attack in the Mannar HSZ is an artillery attack. However, it is written in a manner that indicates that this was some type of highly successful commando raid. If you read carefully, you'll see that it's only an exchange of artillery fire. (Nothing much to brag about, but tamilnet is making full use of it of course. I mean, how can a HSZ be protected from arty rounds falling into it??)

The fall of EPS should be attributed to shear mastery on the part of the Tamil Tigers. What many fail to note is how the Tamil Tigers cut off the A9 from the Iyakachchi junction to the North - a total stretch of 2 miles - after beach landing at VETTILEIKERNI. This made the SLA to formulate a secondary MSR along the Kilay coast, which came under heavy mortar fire from the landed units and from the POONERYN sector. many things went wrong on SLA's side as well, including wrong calibre shells reaching the artillery posts and logistics breaking down. There was also the case of American firefinder laying idle in Jaffna with no one able to install it.

This was one big failure on the tri-forces as a whole. Like the SLA failing to hold off ground columns, the SLN too failed to prevent the beach landing. Likewise SLAF too failed to provide any CAS at all mainly due to government policy at the time. At the time of the attack SLAF had only two operational Kfir C2 attack crafts. This was another reason why SLAF pursued the MIG27 wet deal as a matter of urgency to break off Unceasing waves columns.

There was also some reports the artillery commander at the time was on the LTTE payroll giving the wrong co-ordinates to the gunners.

Corruption was everywhere. They may have had prior information on total strength within the camp, weak points in the FDL, camp layout, saboteurs on payroll, emergency procedures and the full works. The fight was lost way before it was started.

There is another smaller road along the lagoon. The SLA had to retreat along that.

I agree with Long Ranger. The LTTE's ability to land a sufficiently large amphibious force to cut off the water supply and MSR was quite astounding. Especially in view of the fact that the SLA/SLN have not been able to repeat anything like that since Balavegaya. That is not to say that the failings on the part of our leadership at EPS should be forgiven.

Now every news is big news for TN. Unless the tigers make a Big push like Unceasing waves they will be sliding towards the inevitable.

So any attack would be shown in magnified glass now.

I hope u too must be a young man who grew up with this war. if you live abroad I advice u to come and have a look around colombo how the young tamil guys are moving about. Specially wella and kotahena areas.You will see so many young guys doing their studies and trying to build a future for them.

With LTTE we only have heard of destruction and more destruction, tell me one proper uni in the wanni, one proper higher institute in wanni, So please wake up to the reality brother!!

Two Tamil Tiger leaders - Balraj and Theepan are attributed to cutting the A9 off from PALLAI to MUHAMALE. Sea tiger leader Birendran Master is credited for the Sea landing operation. This was 26th March 2000.Seeing this contingency plans were set for the alternative - that is a secondary route via KILALI, KACHCHAI and CHAVAKACHCHERI. But the tigers could not hold onto this stretch. By 31st of March 2000 Air mobile brigade, 533, 534 and CLI undertook operations to breach the middle of this stretch and relieve the siege. At one point Balraj and his men were trapped, but much to the dismay of SLA, managed to escape and join his comrades South.

But this where one must praise the Tamil Tigers for their coordination. While Balraj hung onto the A9 north Theepan moved South of VETTILEIKERNI to strike at the VATHIRAYAN box. By the time the operations were udnerway to secure the MSR the damage was done.

One needs to think of the overall theatre of battle that took place that day. A few key strokes cannot bring this battle into life. If so it is a grave injustice to all the dead.

riyaz machan waste of valuable words.... the truth that we see day by day.. thousands of young tamil boys and girls in wella, kotahena mattakuliya etc.. going for classes CIMA and all ...having equal opportunities in local universities to get free higher education and even obtain scholarships....free education provided by govt....till ALs ..and still they tell that singhaleese kill tamils......

attack is the best defence and riyaz, you will never understand the pain of the thamil people in the north and east, our women get raped, people get taken into interoogation and tortured just on suspicion, people get abducted by paramilitaries working under the SLA and innocent cilians get shot in broad daylight for no apparent reason. The SLA has turned our land into an open jail, the only option for us as a people is to fight back for our independence and that is eelam.

Can you please be specific and tell us when and where these incidents have happened? Also, we want to know the sources of your information (Ex: UTHR). Until then, you are just parroting LTTE racist propaganda to prolong suffering of Sri Lankans to give a good life for Velu and Family. Please bring your list up.

Sam perera UTHR are a bunch of disgruntled old men who haven't done anything for their people or their land and just sit there and be critics without doing anything themselves, they are a bunch of dickless faggots who haven't accomplished anything. As for these incidents they are incidents that are happening on a daily basis and i really don't care if you believe me or not, i do however give you credit for being interested in these incidents and countering my arguments in a civil way unlike certain other bloggers here.

No point talking with thiru. See, from our point of view, LTTE kills innocent people including women & children and sabotage our (all Sri Lankans, not only Sinhalese) freedom everyday. So we have no other option but to fight back. No point trying to convince him on who's right or whose wrong, he knows the truth already but is too proud to accept it!

"attack is the best defence and riyaz, you will never understand the pain of the thamil people in the north and east, our women get raped, people get taken into interoogation and tortured just on suspicion, people get abducted by paramilitaries working under the SLA and innocent cilians get shot in broad daylight for no apparent reason. The SLA has turned our land into an open jail, the only option for us as a people is to fight back for our independence and that is eelam."

Sure, all this is true, if the word SLA was replaced by LTTE. Women get raped in their bunkers, people get abducted and forced to join the LTTE, they are shot dead for not paying 'taxes' or on the slightest suspicion that they are helping the SLA.....the list goes on.

thiru,When was the last time you've been to LTTE controlled area? You should be thankful that you are not there and facing all the hardships that you have described so well.

"Any news from the LTTE's overall operations command in Canada about the attack in mannar.."

Yes, it seems that the aircraft career you mentioned in an earlier post has encountered 'technical difficulties'. As a result, the TEAF(tamil eelam air force) F18 squadrons have been unable to join the fight in time, forcing LTTE ground troops to perform a 'tactical withdrawal'. So the great sun goat has decided to postpone the operation to advance into Colombo after capturing Mannar.

Hela said... Talking of EP1 and Op. Balavegaya, it would be wrong if we did not mention Admiral Clancy Fernando.

Hela,I agree with you. Admiral Clancy Fernando is one the giants in the EP1 battle. Several years ago, I met his son and he narrated this very interesting story. He said that on the instructions of his father navy personnel rounded up a large number of stray dogs from Colombo and kept them as guard dogs and pets at the Karainagar naval base. Apprently, the dogs were very succesful at detecting and deterring a number of infiltration attempts. This shows that Admiral fernando was an innovative and brilliant leader. Having owned dogs, I think this should be considered for all army camps. May he rest in peace.

Oh yeah....they are not under Operations Command - Canada, they are working under Operations Command - East Africa. So they still don't know the op has been postponed. The poor goons are going to find they are alone when they reach Colombo. But still, good practice for them....

Chamal,Absolutely.I will have to call my Canadian source working at the LTTE office of the U.N to findout for sure.This continuous "tactical withdrawal" is not due to lack of arms/cadres/ammo..its due to a shortage of proper footwear specially reinforced for rough terrain(Bata slips)

chamal, you have no idea who i am or where i'm from so don't talk nonsense without knowing wat is coming out of your mouth, just for the record i am speaking from experience and if you are too naive to realize what your army is which is a bunch of perverts who prey on innocent civilians just like they did in Haiti, chamal your army is the pussiest cunts that i have ever seen. Have you ever been to the north and seen them on patrol in jaffna, they are shit scared because they don't know where the next tiger attack is gonna be.

Thanks CASC. I think this country is fast forgetting some truly remarkable officers and men who have sacrificed their lives for our tomorrow. I wish there was some historian who would be interested in recording some of their achievements for posterity sake. I just read an article about a commando who died last year in the Thoppigala Operation but there are so many who have been forgotton. We still talk of only Dutugemunu !!!

I noticed you maid a mention to Brig Percy Fernando, were you ever in the armed forces and did you ever serve under him?

You seem to be the only one who knows what exactly happened at EPS, all the facts you mentioned are spot on.

What mastery on whoever planned the op to first that Iyakachchi, cut off the supply lines and starve the base.

I still believe we lost that base, and all the bases before including kilinochchi because of political intereference. Ratwatte and everyone didnt know shit, if they moved aside and let the commanders do it, give them the right weapons, so many of our brothers, father, sons and daughters would still be here with us.

I am sickened by what has happened, all I pray for is that, once and for all, we wipe this menace out.

And to all of you, who think this could have been done and that could have been done when EPS, or even Kilinochchi and Mullativu, you dont know shit. We always had competant leaders on the battelfield, it was always the ones in their command centres in Jaffna and Colombo who let down our brave soldiers.

I feel privileged and honoured to have known someone of the calibre of Brig Percy Fernando. You will only ever feel the true pain of war when it takes someone close to you.

I have a question for you regarding this. But don't give answer like your uncle's A/L marks :).

"what your army is which is a bunch of perverts who prey on innocent civilians just like they did in Haiti, chamal your army is the pussiest cunts that i have ever seen"

If you have choice tell me which army you going to select from SL Army or IPKF? For me I heard IPKF has done rapes bloody lot than SL army. I feel still you are in early 80's and 90's. There can be incidents happen but it is not as common as before. It is part of war. If you remember 90's it happened in Sinhalese society too. There were lot of innocent people suffered here and there. But in a war there is no option.

And someone said something about maybe he didnt have the proper style to defend a base, as I mentioned before, when the Kiran camp in Batticaloa came under attack and under siege, he one of the men who was there, at that time he was a Lt Col, and he played a major part in saving the base. So I dont buy the story about him not being able to defend a base.

samantha, in what type of war is rape justified? only the war against the tamils, this was done by the IPKF also as you stated however this dispicable act has been carried out by the SLA for over 50 years, and they haven't just limited themselves to Sri Lanka. Correct me if i'm wrong but I don't think what happened in Haiti happened in the eighties and nineties.

Mysterious posters appeared in certain areas in Colombo yesterday, telling would-be suicide bombers that “Like everybody else they too have a right to live” and offering them huge incentives if they gave up their destructive mission.

In the posters which appeared mainly in Kotahena and Wellawatte would-be bombers were offered Rs. 10 million or the equivalent in US dollars for a new life here or overseas.

The posters urged the bombers to understand that life was precious and LTTE leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran should sacrifice his son or daughter if he was sincere about the Tamil cause.

Would-be suicide bombers have been urged to call telephone number 1233 if they have been tasked to carry out a suicide attack saying security would be provided to them if they surrendered.

The posters said would-be suicide bombers who provided information were assured full confidentiality and told they could also be sent overseas with their immediate families if they so desired for security reasons.

However the source or from where the posters originated could not be verified as these particulars were not mentioned.

The 118 emergency unit when contacted said it was not aware of such posters and said it would launch a probe to check the source of the posters. (ER & SJ)

(Lanka-e-News, 2008 March 18, 9.45 PM) The Chairman of the 'Lakjaya' Foundation Major General Janaka C. Perera said that in a time all Army seniors were skeptical about retaining Jaffna, he was the only person who said Jaffna could be protected. In return, then Army Commander Daluwaththa carried tales to the President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumarathunga stating that he was in a conspiracy with the Opposition Leader Ranil Wickramasinghe.

Addressing the first media conference of Lakjaya Foundation, of which the objective is to create a strong society, he said that he was out of the military and diplomatic services now and needed to do something for the people for which the Lakjaya Foundation was launched. He said that a group of local and foreign, honest and efficient people who spent their labor, time and wealth to strengthen the country are with him. Lakjaya Foundation was launched to help to empower the war affected people and the unprivileged sectors of the society.

Still there is a vacuum although a number of state and nongovernmental organizations are active to assist the war affected. Lakjaya Foundation was launched in this regard and he was urged to provide the pioneer leadership since he had authentic experience on the cruelty of war and on what it takes from people.

The Foundation will initiate its programmes on April 06 with a pinkama at Anuradhapura Sri Maha Bodhiya to bless the armed forces and a symbolic programme to provide relief to the war affected. The Foundation will prepare a database of the families the breadwinner was lost due to war to provide relief to them.

Following is the dialogue between Major General Janaka Perera and the journalists.

Question: "Can we expect an end to the war immediately? Does Lakjaya Foundation contribute to it?"

Answer: "Our organization does not support war. Our aim is to assist the war affected to return to normal life. Finishing the war is a responsibility of those who lead it. The Army Commander has expressed hopes that war will end by April or May. We too wish that would happen."

Question: "There are a number of organizations such as 'Manel Mal', 'Ranaviru Authority', 'Api Wenuwen Api' to help the war heroes and the disabled war heroes. The entry of Lakjaya Foundation with same objectives will create a conflict and the repetition of same things."

Answer: "We aim not only the war heroes but also all the other families that lost the breadwinners due to war. We will release our programme after April 06."

Question: "In a TV propaganda item, a pregnant woman stands to give the seat to a soldier in a bus. Doesn't Lakjaya Foundation support this kind of militarization?"

Answer: "It is true. This kind of militarization is dangerous. However, if necessary attention is not paid to the disabled soldiers, there is a possibility for them to join underworld and to be social menaces. There is a task the senior retired officials can perform and we attempt to do that."

Question: "Rumors say that you are close to UNP. Is Lakjaya Foundation a springboard for you to enter into politics? "

Answer: "This is a social service foundation and not a political movement. They charge me a UNPer since they have nothing else against me. During the time of the (previously mentioned) incident, Army Commander Daluwaththa threatened to take my wife to the fourth floor if I would not confess of having a discussion with the Opposition Leader Ranil Wickramasinghe."

Then Major General Perera asked from the journalist if he had any dislike for his coming to politics. The journalist said in response to that in a time of law and order are collapsed like this, the trend of the former senior armed forces officials to come into politics looked terifying, according to his perception.

Hello. This post is likeable, and your blog is very interesting, congratulations :-). I will add in my blogroll =). If possible gives a last there on my blog, it is about the Servidor, I hope you enjoy. The address is http://servidor-brasil.blogspot.com. A hug.

I never justified rape or any other crime against innocent civilians. Since you are telling that SL army doing it for over 50 years give me the answer this problem. Do you have any facts or this kind of crime before 1983 done by SLA to Tamil civilians? It is a naked lie for me. May be I am naive here you can correct me if I am wrong. All this things happened after this idiotic LTTE emerged, that is why SL army had to operation in the north.

I am going to stop here if you show me again your uncle's A/L results (baseless shit).

Don't so short-sighted mate. Don't assume that we haven't lost close ones in battle. Yes, it is true that we always had political interference up until now but some of the officers in the forces need to take their fair share of the battle. I haven't lost anybody in EPS battle and don't personally know anybody who fought in that battle, but I've lost dear ones in Jayasikurui (they fought with commando regiment) and let me tell you, some of the battle field decisions were dreadful!

You cannot justify everything that has happened with political interference. As somebody said before, there is no culture of accountability in Sri Lanka. We need to install this mentality in every Sri Lankan, including the forces, if we are to move forward.

The truth will touch a few raw nerves but that shouldn't stop us from trying to seek the truth.

As I said before, I am not sure about Brig Percy Fernando, this is an individual case. Longer-Ranger is right, reading his post it makes me think that this was a brilliant move by LTTE. However, this doesn't take the blame away from those who were responsible for the security of the base and the troops in it, they have to be held responsible for at least some of the things that happened.

You cannot say that we are civilians and we don't understand military matters and therefore should not comment on anything. Yes, we are civilians but we are not stupid. It is us who pay for this war (in many ways than one). So the military & the politicians have a responsibility to explain to us, in terms that we understand, what exactly happened and what's been done to make sure that it never happens again.

This is not my attempt to tarnish the name of a single officer, I'm just trying to find out exactly what happened.

In 20 years time, people like you may come up to me and say "there was nothing the commanding officer could do to protect AAB". I lost one relative in that fight and I am from northern part of NCP, so let me tell you, the defence of the base was awful. Even a civilian like me could see ways into the base. So, please don't try to make excuses for bad military leaders. Political interference or not, some of the military leaders need to take their fair share of the blame.

I'm VERY VERY sceptical about Maj. Gen JC Perera coming into the limelight. I know him personaly and their family and ALWAYS (I mean ALWAYS) he BOASTS BIG about himself and BLAME others. This makes him a BIG POLITICIAN. That makes him one of the MOST OBNOXIOUS persons to listen to/associate.

What we should understand is JCP WAS a great commander/leader and his use-by date has long passed NOW; this "foundation" is a means for him to springboard into politics, nothing else.

But if he is going to do good for the sake of doing good, we should support him only to that extent.

Anyway this is my experience. I respect those with different views on him.

If you still have friends who are alive who served in the Commando regiment, ask them abt Brig Percy Fernando, see what they say.

And a note on Janaka Perera, I have been told hes a huge talker. And he never really fought from the front lines. He stayed in the CP miles away from battle and took credit for the work everyone else did.

He is credited with saving Jaffna, I say horse shit. Someone else did the hardwork while he took the credit.

"It is us who pay for this war (in many ways than one)" - Please note "in more ways than one".

Also, I didn't put the blame entirely on Brig. Percy Fernando, what I said was: "As I said before, I am not sure about Brig Percy Fernando, this is an individual case."

"How do you pay for this war compared to what others have been forced to give up? Yes you pay your taxes, but what is money compared to a life."

How do you know what I've given up? Did you not read the part where I mentioned the place that I come from? I know the pain first hand. Starting from two of my closest school friends getting hacked to death (when we were at primary school), hiding in the jungle at night time because of the fear of LTTE attacks to losing few of my closest relatives in the battlefield (the latest one at AAB).

Not knowing anything about General Janaka Perera, I would say that there is nothing wrong with someone of his caliber getting into politics. The war was mismanaged for a long time because people without any military back ground were in positions of power and making policies that were detrimental to the armed forces. At least now there is a Defence Secretary with a military background.

A year before he died I met General Lucky Algama at someone's house. He indicated that he was getting into politics. He probably would have been the Defence Minister in the short-lived UNP Govt., and may be some of the crazy things that happened under that regime could have been stopped. I am not entirely convinced that General Algama was killed by the LTTE although that was the official explanation at the time. General Algama and General Perera no doubt have some character problems but both deserve a large measure of credit for clearing the east in 1993.

The sad part of our recent history is how the army was undermined from within because of personal battles among senior officers. General Janka Perera's alludes to this in his interview. Also, I remember General Algama saying that he never got the top spot because General Wanasinghe was blocking his promotion.

RaptorI think it’s unfair to rubbish parakrama because we too have contributed in huge amounts of our hard earned, when the parripu drop was done by the Indians, making us very angry, since then we have continued to help our country materially and morally and the crooks in the forces and politicians are accountable to us and we can’t let them of the hook and we are not idiots and fools to take it lying down. It is true that many of our innocent gave their lives for their country and we must also honour the good work of military leaders like Denzil,Janaka,Srilal,Wimala Wejeratne and scores of others who did their part,inspite of political interference of the CBK regime. Let me remind you that janka was responsible for one of the worst number of casualties to the terrorists at Welioya a place now named Janka pura,perhaps named after him, where 300 tigers died. Everyone did their best, but some exploited this war for their own ends. Can anyone tell us about a situation where nearly 80,000 mortar shells were stolen in high seas by the tigers and no doubt that information given to them from inside. We hope one day a person like Janaka or Sarath Fonseka would take to politics and put our country right, though a person like Mush raff tried it but he had too many odds against it. We need a strong dedicated, preferably a military man to run our country and get the things moving in the country and a firm hand to get rid of all sectarian and religious parties out of our politics, should be the next step after this battle.

CascThanks for mentioning Gen.Algama and I think he was responsible for clearing the Eastern Province, when President Wijethunge was in command. It is sad when a person like Janka or Lucky A was praised, people just snap, saying that he is a UNPer etc.This our tragerdy.Iam a supporter of this governing party, but I hated the Rathwattes and Mervins as they never believed in our party ethos

I think you are spot on! We need a very strong leader to clean up politics in SL.

The problem in SL is that blame game is on but accountability is not there (I think I read about accountability in one of your posts). We need to learn to give credit where credit is due. We also need to learn to hold people accountable for what they have done (or not done) irrespective of their race, religion, caste or social standing.

Kevin, in this regard we have a LONG way to go mate but hopefully we'll get there one day!

A very good step in this direction has been taken by Lt. General Sarath Fonseka by promoting officers on merit rather than on seniority. Hope the trend will continue after him! Also, I hope, people will adapt this kind of thinking in every other field as well.

I wonder what impact the posters you refer to would have on someone who never learnt how to read. These guys are corralled once they are brought in, kept in seclusion and under constant surveillance by the controller/s and almost never have access to any media such as radio or TV. The idea being that they should not be open to any ideas that may divert them from the complete regimentation they've been sunjected to.Even then, some males have surrendered since they undergo lesser traumatic 'training'. It is the women who've never changed, since they've been gang raped into a self-loathing and search for death which is developed into chronic hatred of the Sinhalese, who've never had anything to do with them. The difficulty here is making initial contact with them.

I agree that ANYONE can enter politics even faggs as there is a fagg-only party - world's first in SL! (no offense in saying so except to the fancy faggots in politics). Lately there is a move to get "Kollu's" guy into the party by its leader!

Yep, also we need a STRONG leader to clean up multiple messes and it is a fact that JC perera is not the one; honestly i see no one capable and willing to do that among the ones available.

As a prerequisite to all nation building suggestions, I suggest that SL adopts a good PROVEN Asian Consitution and a political system that has worked for others as our jokers have failed to do so. That will put in place many things for good governance.

A corrupt system will only bring in/attract corrupt politicians, public servants. The funny thing is that they can easily change the whole system!!!

//Moscow’s Russian Information Center announced that the State Corporation for Russian Defence Export has concluded negotiations to sell five Mig-29 fighter jets to Sri Lanka ’s Navy. ...... The first MiG-29KUB developed for the Indian Navy made its maiden flight at the Russian Zhukovsky aircraft test centre on January 22 2007.//

I wonder what impact the posters you refer to would have on someone who never learnt how to read.

TropicalStorm,Very interesting point. I think the posters would have very little impact on a suicide terrorist who has just arrived from LTTE territory and is getting ready to detonate his or her bomb. Most of the LTTE cadres were born after 1983 and have never been to rest of Sri Lanka nor have they interacted with the rest of Sri Lankan society. No doubt they have been trained to think that Sinhalese people are some kind of monsters. However, if these people are exposed to outside elements for a considerable time (lets say living in Colombo for some time and interacting with normal human beings), then I think the effects of the brainwashing will probably diminish to some extent over time. The Canadian CIS says that there are about 10,000 Sri Lankanss who have received military training who now live in Canada. Once upona time, all of them carried a cyanide capsule but now these people are living fairly normal lives.

All we need is to 'professionalize' the Police force and have them report direct to the Judiciary. Seperate the judiciary and have any interference with teh Police by politicos be dealt with firmly under the law.

THe rest of what we desire will evolve out of that situation. There's no way to design a surefire constitution or make anything work, when the will to make it happen does not exist. THis is the reason why nations that have been successful possess law enforcement that is above interference in general, even though there's always a little bit of it in any country.[Case in point;Cheney shot another man in irresponsible shooting incident and didn't even have a slap on his wrist..]

1. But who is going to professionalise the police?2. From where are we sourcing the police? From the same corrupt violent society.3. What about the economy, politics, national security, etc. etc.

We cannot make SL a police state.

Without a constitutional and legal framework nothing would work. Singapore was a worse country that today stands as one of the most discipline because of a fantastic constitution and a legal framework.

SL constitution is highly manipulative. For an example the bribery commission is only active (at least sitting) during CBK and MR times. 2001-2004 no BC!! The "constitutional council" is hillarious; 7 years passed no council.

why?

all these stupic consitution's provisions are highly manipulative.

Also this democratic-socialist bullshit should come out. SL has always been a capitalist country in the past and that's what it should be. That alone will bring alot of discipline. For that we need a supportive constitution. Else the opposition will promise free bread and win the election!

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